Red, White & Royal Blue

I was expecting a 5 star book but got this.
It felt like I was reading a children's book at times but then an adult chapter comes along and reminds me this is supposed to be a 18+ book.
The characters were so unrealistic. Alex was the absolute worst.

Cue that Lady Gaga gif
This book is perfection and is worth every percentage of the hype. It now belongs in my list of all time favorites and will make me happy every time I think of it. 10/10

Reread (14/08/22 - 08/09/22)
I still think this book is amazing even two years later. I could still remember so much of it (which barely happens) and it has and will stay with me for such a long time. While the ending could be seen as slightly too optimistic I don't think that takes away that this could happen in real life, to a certain degree of course.
It's such a joy to read and I have underlined the hell out of it, also using 179 tabs to mark the best parts.
I hope everyone reads this book!

This book was excellent.

Honestly, I'm just surprised it took me so long to get to it. The chemistry between Alex and Henry was phenomenal and I absolutely ate it up. The plot of this book was also very interesting.

All around great read.

Me encanto. Lo ame. Lo leería mil veces, lo recomiendo muchísimo. Ame a todos los personajes con locura, me parece que están desarrollados de forma preciosa. Lo único que podría decir es que me quede con ganas de leer un poco de lo que pasaría luego del final del libro, pero cero quejas. <3

Hovering between 4 and 4.5.

If you ever find yourself getting a little jaded at the news cycles and wishing you could just lose yourself for a little while in an AU version of the real world where things are happier, simpler, and not as complicated as they are in real life, this is the book you need to read.

Alex Claremont-Diaz is the First Son of the United States (FSOTUS) and, being in the same age bracket, bears a grudge against Prince Henry, the younger Prince of England, for stealing the media limelight. That is, of course, until accident demands that they act as best friends temporarily to avoid a press disaster for both their countries.

What a delightful trip this was. I rarely get into contemporary romances, but this was certainly one I could get behind. Sure, you probably need to suspend disbelief for some aspects of it, as you probably need to for most romance novels, but at the core of it you're getting the story of two young men exploring the odds of not just being gay but also being gay with each other in the complicated arena of international relations.

The characterisation of Henry and Alex, as well as their relationship, was excellent. We do see layer after layer being peeled away and seeing how they grow from the person they had always thought they were at the beginning to the person they always wanted to be by the end. I'd argue that Henry's growth arc was more obvious in the book though, since we largely get Alex's POV in the narrative.

The side characters were a treat to read as well. They all had distinct personalities and many of them leap off the page at you. It's impossible to imagine this book without the host of side characters making it possible. I think I started shipping Zahra/Shaan as much as, maybe even more than, Henry/Alex from the small glimpses we had of them. Nora/June is a popular ship that I could get behind too.

The plot was okay. Honestly I called most of the plot twists before it happened so I wasn't super blown away by it, but it was still a much more solid plot that did a relatively decent job at working through the fallout and improbability of a publicly homosexual relationship between such public figures as a Prince of England and the First Son of the United States. I wouldn't say it's realistic; I'd say it's optimistic, but that's honestly also nice to read sometimes.

I liked that we kinda saw how the relationship between our main leads grew and developed. Maybe the starting of it was a little sudden, but McQuiston really took her time growing Henry and Alex's feelings for each other and it shows in all the right places. My heart felt squeezed a couple of times while reading this book.

This book focused a lot more on American politics than the inner workings of the British royal family, but it felt very timely and almost prescient with the emphasis on a 2020 Presidential elections. It felt like I couldn't have picked a better time to read this book, tbh.

This is a romance novel that works far, far better than most of the cliched entries of its genre. Fantastic book that reads like a fanfiction of real life, almost, and is such a cute and happy read to lift the spirits.

2023 Reread:

Still so good! Finished it last night and watched the movie today. Unfortunately, the movie doesn't do it justice because they cut out/changed too many key parts that I feel are pretty central to the MCs and plot, but it was cute in parts. I at least enjoyed reading the book again! It really was perfectly timed when I first read it, and I remember how good it was for my mental health during such a stressful year.

Original 2020 review:

With the US election days away and the pandemic ramping up yet again all over the world, I desperately needed an escape from this shitshow of a year. This book gave me the perfect escape into an alternate timeline where Trump doesn't exist, covid is not a thing, and the president's son falls in love with a prince.

The writing is the kind I love most. Fanfic style, meaning present tense with clever snarky humor. It could have been smuttier, but it was still quite hot. I laughed so much while reading this, and I loved all the characters.

It wasn't super believable, but you know what? Our current reality wasn't very believable just a few years ago, yet here we fucking are. So I enjoyed pretending I lived in an equally unbelievable, but much better timeline, just for a little while. Did wonders for my mental health. That was the authors intention, and I for one am grateful!

This book was complete wish fulfillment, but so well-written and hugely romantic that I felt like it elevated the genre.

It was ... Ok. I probably would have liked it better if Alex's personality wasn't so annoying (he behaves like an empty-headed frat boy most of the time) and that Henry wasn't so bland (insert Disney prince here). Also, I didn't find it endearing to follow the exploits of overly-pampered, self-absorbed privileged kids; their banter was oh so annoying - seriously what's so exceptional about them? After the zillionth alcohol-soaked party, I was over these so-called millennial “royals”.

And I can't believe I am saying this and I am by no means a prude, there was just so much swearing and sex that it bored me after a while. (Sex scenes that were maddeningly all hints and no clarity.) And oh yea, they irritated me too.

Still, I enjoyed the premise. I can totally see it as a movie and the dilemma and the pain the two faced was quite heart wrenching.

Just wished they had more likeable personalities!

Not bad but also not my cup of tea - it's a romance after all.

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I love this book. Period. This is the second time I've read it, and I can't wait until I dive back in yet again.

This is a wonderful exploration of discovering your sexuality, of discovering who you are and what you want to be in this world. Red, White & Royal Blue is ultimately a feel-good book. You don't have to worry about an unhappy ending. It takes place in what feels like the ideal world – there's some problems, sure, but nothing that can't be overcome. Alex is a witty, wonderful main character, and his love interest, Henry is just...chef's kiss. The rest of the cast of characters is equally amazing and all just singularly awesome. Please, if you haven't given this one a shot, go ahead and find it. You'll laugh out loud, and you'll probably cry at least once.

I promise it's worth the read. 5 stars, I'd give more if I could.

I think that I don't need to explain what this book is about. Everyone talked about it and I wanted to read it since a long time. And I don't regret it !
First of all I liked the background Thant mixed reality (Barack Obama as former president) and an imaginary following with a woman as president. It was refreshing that our world was not completely distorted.
I loved the characters that are quite relatable, funny and adorable. I really loved Henry who is shy and cute but also cocky at times.
Then I liked the part about Alex searching for his sexuality and realising what he likes and exploring which is such a normal thing to have doubts about love and sexuality.
The writing was really good, with angst, emotions and fun. The perfect mix to keep the reader interested.
And finally I loved the relationship of Alex and Henry. That are so sweet with each other, and the description for their feelings and sensation when they are together and have sex. It's not as smutty as some books I have read but it was perfect ! I highly recommend it !

A lot of folks raved about this last year and recommended it to me, but tbh there was a really long wait list for it and I had other stuff to read so I didn't prioritize it, but WOW y'all were right! My skin is healed, my crops are flourishing, etc etc. This is so sweet and charming and sexy and honestly also just soo nice to spend some time in a world where most of the people in power actually like, give a shit about the people they're governing?? Wowww

Pffffffft!

I don't have enough words to say all the things I loved.

How quickly I fell in love with the two leads. How quickly I fell in love with the whole book. Such fun and heartfelt writing. Fully realized and interesting characters that avoid a lot of stereotypes.

A love story that is both so affirming and lovely but also so felt and deeply explored. Made me fall deeper in love with both characters.

A fun and predictable diversion from the heavier stuff I've been reading. There was so much overdescription and her character development is all telling, no showing, keeping it all very surface. This seems written for a 20s/30s straight female audience, a little bit of queer pandering.

I think this is the easiest 5-star rating I've ever given a book. From the very beginning, I knew that I was going to love this book. And I did. I adored everything from the witty narration, to the flawed yet insanely lovable and relatable characters, to the representation that made me feel seen and heard. Everything about this book is phenomenal. (Not to mention the absolutely swoon-worthy protagonists!!! Ahhhh I love them!!!

L'idée de départ de ce roman est plutôt sympathique : Alex, le fils de la Présidente des Etats-Unis (une sorte d'Hillary Clinton qui aurait été élue en 2016) tombe amoureux d'Henry, Prince de Galles et troisième dans l'ordre de succession à la Couronne d'Angleterre.

Alors évidemment, on ne va pas chercher du réalisme parfait dans cette histoire, mais c'est une romance gay bien écrite et plaisante à lire. Un divertissement bienvenu.

I F*CKING LOVED THIS BOOK!!

didn't have high hopes getting in, I tried reading it before but ended up DNF'ing. But then I listened to it on audio. It was so good! This book made me almost cry on a full bus. The romance was so cute, but it had so many good and bad moments. The emotions were so real.

Really, I could talk about this book all day but I'm not going to. Just read it. This is the only book I've given 5 full stars this year. That says something.

An appropriate pick for pride month, this book is all feel good. I don't know why, but the whole time I pictured Alex as David from Schitt's Creek. Anyway, this book is adorable. My favorite parts of the book were the email correspondences between Alex and Henry and the quotes from historical love notes passed between famous closeted figures. I am hopeful for a future with the amount of representation in the government this book gives us.

AAAAAAAAAAA ESTE LIBRO ES HERMOSO!
MI CORAZÓN MURIÓ DE TANTOS SENTIMIENTOS!
ESTE LIBRO TRANSMITE ESPERANZA Y LO AMO!

Note: 4.5/5

I loved it! I decided to read it after reading the synopsis on a website, and it was a great decision to do so.
I couldn't put it down, wanting to know what happened! It made me laugh, it gave me hope that, one day, the world will be fully accepting of the LGBT+ community, it made me tear up. It had be a while since a book had this type of effect on me. If you have read the story of Alex and Henry, go and read it now. The author's storytelling capabilities are incredible, she built the characters and all the tiny details with a lot of attention which makes it so easy to picture it in your mind.
I really hope there will be a sequel to this book at some point.

3.5

overall, this was a “feel-good” story - Spoiler everything works out and there's a hopeful, happy ending .

hm...some people had a problem with the idealistic portrayal of the issues within the story - completely understandable...reality is oft-times complicated. but sometimes that's what makes stories like these work, yenno...it's a fun form of escapism.

things i liked:
“enemies” -> lover tropethe portrayal/journey of alex's sexual identity crisis and how we came to terms with it
the White House Trio friendshipthe First Family dynamic
Alex Claremont-Diaz. – i mean, he's so bloody dramatic, a hardworking, feisty politics nerd who loves and cares so damn much...case in point: Spoiler he went the extra, like, 3660 miles to give shit to his babe for ghosting him, shouting at him in the freaking rain like it's a jane austen novel (OKAY BUT THAT SCENE THOUGH HAHAHA) i also love that he's biracial and how important his Mexican ancestry is to him....other notes:sometimes the writing was a little disjointed? like, one scene would be happening and suddenly there's a time jump?? with no transition, so like (oh my god i'm starting to sound like alex with all the “like”s) you'd have to reread the scene ? i think it might've been a bit more effective if there was a smoother transition?
like, it was an original concept - like in movies, when they show one scene and then skip frame to the next scene, but in book format. i think if the “skip frames” were formatted differently (or it may've just been an issue w/ the ebook version)....to make the distinction clearer?
(EDIT: i think it was just the ebook version i had)

M/M, lgbtqa

I don't have the words to explain how much I enjoyed this book. It was interesting, original, fun, and easy to read. I felt sooooo refreshed after reading it. I thoroughly enjoyed and absorbed every detail of it. I must say that it definitely is one of my favorites now. It's absolutely fantastic.

LO AMÉ. Fue el primer libro que leí en inglés y siempre va a tener un lugar importante. Es muy entretenido y fácil de leer y pasé un buen rato haciéndolo. Alex y Henry me derritieron, ya quisiera yo tener una relación así (excluyendo eso de la realeza

Para aquellos que quieran tener calentito el corazón y esperanza de la buena :)